


Ripples

by AllHerDemons



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 23:03:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19283017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllHerDemons/pseuds/AllHerDemons
Summary: Ginny's carefully crafted normal world comes to a screeching halt one day and now she must decide how to protect her daughters from potentially grave danger. Reaching out to an old contact could be the solution, or result in dire consequences, emotionally and/or physically.





	Ripples

Chapter 1: The pebble drops

"Mom!! Watch out!"

She jerked her eyes back to the road ahead of them, hit the brakes just in time to serve onto the shoulder and came to a sliding stop in the gravel.

"Girls, are you alright?" She could barely speak. Her head was spinning with adrenaline and something else, something darker.

"Yeah," came the muffled reply from her youngest, who was still mowing her way through after-school snacks.

"What the hell was that, Mom?!" Her oldest pushed her glasses back into place.

"Carly, watch your tone, please," was her automatic response, a phrase that seemed to roll out of her mouth ad nauseum these days. She sighed, and dealt with the situation she had control over. "I got distracted, I guess. I didn't see the traffic piling up." A rig signaled to her and gave her room to pull back onto the highway.

The ride home was quieter than normal. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts until they pulled into their driveway.

She sent both girls into the house with clear instructions to get their afternoon chores completed quickly. Her hands were shaking as she pulled out her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, her finger hovered over "OB/Gyn". "This is crazy," she muttered to herself.

"Moooo-oooom, Simone won't get out of my room so I can do my chores!" Carly's voice came through her open bedroom window on the second floor. "Simone, I told you to leave me alone!"

"Mooo-ooom, Carly has my book and I need it for my report!" Simone's voice came wafting down, indignant. "I know she was reading it last night!!"

"Hey, Ginny," she spun around at the voice, startled. An older woman was walking up the sidewalk with her dog. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you."

"Oh, hey, Martha," she smiled and sighed. "The girls are being their normal pains this afternoon."

Martha laughed, "It's been a long week for them, hasn't it? All that state testing for 3rd level, ugh. I think I binged screen and ate junk food for a week after mine, with my mother doing the same right along with me."

Ginny smiled wider, "Yeah, it's been a rough set for Carly, with her test anxiety, and Simone's not been exactly supportive through it. Simone flew through her prelims and is pretty sure she aced, so now she's all hyped for her actual 3rd's next year." She slipped her phone back into her pocket, the call would have to wait, and swung her bag onto her shoulder. The arguing from the second floor window was increasing in volume. Ginny shook her head, "I'd better in there before they kill each other."

Marth nodded in understanding. "Let me know if Carly has time this weekend to help me with repairs?"

Ginny nodded and waved as she strode inside to untangle her daughters, the phone call getting pushed further down by parenting distractions.

***

"Simone, I really need you to lift it a bit on your sister." Ginny was sitting on the edge of Simone's bed, as they finished up their nightly bedtime check-ins. "You know this week hasn't been easy for her."

"I knooo-oow, Mom," Simone groaned, then sighed. She continued much more soberly, "I know she hates any kind of Testing, but I've been trying to act like it's no biggie, that everything she's going through is just a normal thing, NBFD, ya know?"

"NBFD? What does that mean?"

Simone was still young enough to blush at her slip in front of her mother. "Sorry, it's means 'No Big Fricking Deal', but not actually 'fricking', ya know?" She suddenly scooted up to a sitting position and grabbed Ginny's hand. "Look, I know most people at school walk on egg shells around her, the whole Genius thing hanging over her head, but I'm trying to give her a small space where she gets to be pissed off and angsty with her pain-in-the-ass sister, ya know? She just needs to have that pressure release sometimes, just to chill."

Ginny smoothed her daughter's rainbow curls back from her face, tucking a run-away bright pink behind one ear. "You're pretty amazing, you know that?" She sighed. "Maybe just be a little easier on her, give ME a break from the arguing?"

Her daughter threw herself back onto the mountain of pillows she always slept with, and sighed, deeply, "Yeah, okay, Mom." She slid her green eyes over to meet her mom's. "I'll give you a break this weekend."

Ginny knew that was the most she was going to get from this daughter of hers. Leaning over, she kissed Simone on the forehead and then the tip of her nose, Simone kissed both of her cheeks, and they hugged. As Ginny walked out the door, she heard Simone, already sleepy, whisper "lights off" and darkness flooded the room.

***

Carly was at her desk, no surprise there, buried in her notes for the next test.

It took Ginny several minutes to realize Carly was just sitting there, staring blankly at her papers. "Carly?" There was no answer, no movement. "Hey, sweetheart, are you alright?" Ginny laid a hand gently on Carly's shoulder.

Carly shot out of her chair and was across the room before Ginny could react. "Mom?? Mom!! Don't scare me like that? Don't you knock??" Her eyes were so wide that Ginny could see her whites all around her deep purple iris'.

"Honey, I did knock and I tried to get your attention several times before I touched you." Ginny studied her flushed face and the rapid rise and fall of her daughter's chest. "What were you thinking so deeply about that you didn't hear me?"

Carly's eyes slid away from hers. "Nothing."

Ginny mentally rolled her eyes at her oldest and sighed. "So it happened again?"

"How do you always know?!" She was relieved she wouldn't actually have to tell her mom, that this was something she never had to explain, because her mom seemed to get it.

At her mom's raised eyebrow, Carly had the sense to smile sheepishly. "Yeah, so 'mom-sense' hits home again." Then she sighed and threw her hands up before walking back to her desk chair. "How am I supposed to handle this?? I can't just ignore what comes flooding into my head! I don't know where it comes from and I can't stop it. It's stupid to look at those tests and not put down what I KNOW are the right answers. It's not my fault I already know them all!!"

Ginny raised a hand. "Are you done?" Carly plowed her hands threw her short, choppy bright green hair, nodded. "We've discussed this already. I'm exploring some possibilities, but your health and safety are my main priority, I won't compromise that." Her hand went up again as Carly opened her mouth to say something. "No, this is NOT negotiable."

Her daughter pouted. "I hate the 'genius' thing," she grumbled. "It's not like I'm doing the smart stuff on my own, it just pops into my head." She laid her forehead on her desk. "I hate being different."

"Look, we're ALL different, that's what makes us human, love." She stroked Carly's hair. "But there are levels of difference that some people can't, won't handle. We just need to get through Simone's 3rds next year and then we can talk about what's next."

"Why do we have to wait that long??" Carly whined. Ginny smiled, typical teenage behaviour was a good sign.

"You know our choices are limited as long as Simone still has her 2nd level tracker active. Once you both are through to the 3rd, then we're home free." The dark from earlier came flooding over her. She took a slow breath, and then several more. "It'll be okay, Carly. We can do this."

Carly looked up at her mom. Her eyes were a liquid blue, set in a heart-shaped face, under a cap of shoulder-length brown hair, a striking face that sat on top of a lithe body clothed in casual comfort clothes. Ginny had always been Carly's rock, for her whole life, better than any passing school or girl friend, but now Carly realized something about her mom was off.

"Hey, mom, what's wrong?" Carly watched her mother's eyes shutter, something she'd never seen before, but her voice was normal.

"I'm just a little tired, maybe I'm fighting something off." She smiled. "I may give the doctor's office a call. You girls bring home all the best germs, ya know?" Ginny watched Carly accept what she said, but knew that something of the dark had shown itself. The past can't be changed, Ginny thought.

She rubbed Carly's shoulder softly, "Don't stay up past your bedtime, hon. It's just one more day and then the weekend." She stopped in the doorway and turned back. "Wanna go to the beach? Get some fresh air?"

Carly was chewing the corner of her thumb, but stopped abruptly when her mom looked her pointedly. She grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, that sounds mag, mom. I'll hit the sack in about ten minutes, okay?"

Ginny blew her a kiss and headed downstairs.

***

She sat at the kitchen table, hot tea mug sitting between her hands, staring through the steam slowing curling up from the surface of the liquid. Her phone lay in front of her hands, screen blank. I should call now,  she thought. Her hands didn't move.

I must have imagined him. She knew that stretch of road to be a regular route for roaming vagrants, being the only way to pass from city to the next through the ruins. He can't still be alive!

Slowly, her hand reached out and tapped her screen. Her contacts were still up, showing the OB/Gyn number. She closed her eyes. There was no telling were the Ripple would go if she dropped this particular pebble.

There were soft sounds from upstairs, as Carly got into bed for the night.

For my girls. Her resolve now firm, she tapped the number.

There was a quiet hum, rather than a ring tone. Several clicks. Then, "Yes?"

"I have a report."

"Your access code?"

"XY996"

There was a pause. "Hold."

Her hands were shaking now. She tried to calm herself with a sip of the tea. Stone-cold. She sighed. She knew what would calm her, but wasn't sure if she wanted to dare it. It had been a long time. With a longer sigh, she focused on the mug's contents.

Steam began curling up once again. She sipped. Much better, she thought. I can still do it, which will be a good thing if this Ripple's pathway holds what I believe it does.

The open line was still humming. Ginny thought about picking it up, to take it off speaker, but then there was a click and silence. There was someone on the other end, waiting.

"Hello?"

"Identify yourself." The voice was clipped, precise. Ginny identified it as British.

"XY996"

"Impossible."

"Why? Who is this?"

"You're dead," came the sharp retort.

"I don't think so. This isn't funny."

"No, this is not. Who are you?"

"I already identified myself. Identify YOURself." She was working hard to keep her voice even and controlled. The speech cadence and accent of the speaker was familiar, but she just couldn't place a face to it.

"That is not SOP. Give me your secondary identification."

Ginny sat in stunned silence. This couldn't be happening. Secondary's were NEVER requested. It was the same as asking someone on the street for their True Name. No one had access to that information, except the Holder and the Recorder...

"Alexander?" Her voice shook, she couldn't stop it. "Is that you?"

"Secondary, NOW!" There was a tinge to his voice now, something like panic.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, rather....." She stopped and waited.

"Rather the belief that something is more important than the fear." The relief in his voice had an almost physical impact on her through the phone. "Ginny?" His voice cracked now.

"Alex........" Her voice came out so softly, he barely could hear her. "You're alive."

"It was a near thing, luv." She heard a high-pitched tone in the background. "I'm double checking that this line is secure and clean. It should be, but this is highly irregular, as you well know." The last was said with regret.

"Alex," she waited until she was sure he had paused and was listening. "I saw him." Silence. "Or at least I Felt him."

A sharp intake of breath. "How strong?" He had never doubted her before and was certainly not about to start now.

"I'm not sure I can quantify it. It was his Signature, but it was fleeting. I couldn't grasp it long enough. I wasn't prepared. He's supposed to be gone! This was never supposed to be an issue again! What the hell happened?!" Her throat got tight with suppressed rage and fear, followed by rolls of nausea at the thought of what her future could now hold.

"I don't know." He could imagine her lip curling in anger at his words. He had to be quick. "I really don't! I had every indication that the plan worked. There hasn't been even a whiff anywhere, no Tracers have reported a Sniff since. You were supposed to be Smoked from the system so that, if there was a cock-up, no web could track you."

"I WAS smoked, Alex, but why did you ask if I was dead?"

"You're listed as deceased, luv." He sighed. "Something about a vehicle accident, you and your daughter."

Her eyes closed, so grateful this was not a video call and he couldn't see her face. He doesn't know about Simone, which means They don't either. She set down her cup and rubbed the ache at her temples. Will he forgive me?

"Ginny, I can lift the smoke and relist you. We can get both of you somewhere safe and secure and then plan the next step. You can't handle this on your own anymore."

Decades of repressed memories came flooding out of the deep recesses where she'd send them packing. Images, sounds, smells, emotions, all so overwhelming and so powerful. The longing was the worst, reminding her of the old adage, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"I need time, Alex. There are....things...information...that I need first. I need to make things clean here first. I can't just leave, it would cause a Ripple. I can't have anything follow us, not now."

"I understand." The hurt was well-buried, but she still heard it.

"You don't, but you will."

The corner of his mouth twitched at hearing her favorite come-back thrown at him.

"I know I will, you just know how I hate to wait." The hum intensified in the background. "Future contact should be through an alternate line." He gave her a number. "Dr. Smith's office, as clean as can be. And buried. I can't have your XY tag pop up in the system again. Some of the Old Guard are still on duty, so start watching yourself 360 from now on."

"I will" There was a pause. A pause full of hours of unspoken conversations.

The line went dead.

***

**Author's Note:**

> There may be more to this storyline in the future. Right now the tags are set for what the present content portrays. Future chapters may have an escalation in character interactions, and I will tag them accordingly.


End file.
